After that, all I could do was close my eyes, letting the calm force me into sleep, hugging my pillow for warmth. I dreamt of the sensation of attending a concert long ago the lights, the sounds, everything mixing together in my mind. Concrete floors lifted, forming a huge, open football field, with flowers sprouting through the cracks. Shadows of thousands of people surrounded a stage shaped like a house, trees growing from its roof. A soft hand grabbed all five of my fingers. When I looked back, a faceless girl stood there, staring at me one of the people I had tried so hard to forget.
"Bitch, Just go away." I said to her coldly.
Her figure dissolved into black Mugunghwa petals. Behind me, I saw rescue personnel carrying a middle-aged woman unconscious out of the crowd, while a man ran after them, pleading,
"Please, save my wife! sh- she got a tumor in her head! please~"
"Hey, fans!" Eight shadowy figures of the artists held microphones, addressing thousands of screaming fans. "Everyone has a dream to reach the top. This microphone is a symbol of success for anyone of us. When we hand it to someone, it's because we believe… that person can tune it even better than before. That's the peak of our industry, our family."
Screams and cheers filled the air. I pushed through hundreds of people toward the stage. One of the artist's shadows leaned down, squatting, offering a microphone to me.
"What's your name, young man?" he asked, handing me the mic.
At the same time, from afar near the parking lot, I caught sight of a man carrying a guitar, climbing into a neon-blue butterfly-patterned bus. My eyes widened and I swallowed hard in shock. Screams my awareness snapped back. "M-my name is…."
Ah! Dammit! Wake up, you idiot!
The alarm clock jolted me out of bed. "Damn… I hate this sound," I muttered, checking the time.
9:43 AM Shit! The results were about to be announced.
I sprang into action shower, brush teeth, change clothes then dashed out to hail a taxi.
"Where to?" the driver asked.
"SPI Entertainment building! Fast!" I jumped into the back seat.
"Ten minutes, max," he said. The wheels transformed into hovering mechanisms, lifting the taxi five meters above the ground. The monitor displayed the street names.
"Moving onto Second Highway." Traffic flowed slowly below. "Not fast enough," he accelerated, rising higher.
"Moving onto Third Highway, ten meters above ground." This level was less crowded. "Being a flying taxi is awesome right? Hehe," he chuckled. I silently prayed to god for a safe ride.
Finally, we arrived at the building. I paid him extra and sprinted toward the entrance, eyes wide.
"Could I really make it?" I thought.
"Younger kids are waiting for their shot too. It won't be easy," I reminded myself.
Walking toward the holographic announcement board, kids were crowding around to check their names. I saw K asking them to make way.
"Excuse me! Take it slow, one at a time, haha!" K lifted the smallest kid onto his shoulders, navigating through the crowd to check the results.
Seeing the crowd was too dense, I decided to sit and wait, eventually dozing off in the cool air-conditioned room.
"Hey, Junior!" a lady's voice woke me.
"Huh?!" I blinked and realized the janitor was lifting my leg to clean the floor. "Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry~" i apologized her in a rhythm.
Time passed, and nearly everyone had checked their results. I almost didn't find my name figured I wouldn't make it. Damn it!
But then… Ji Sanghae's name appeared. That guy had made it into the top 70 out of 300 applicants. As for me… I hadn't really expected anything. If I didn't make it, maybe I'd just sell smoothies and start my own little business.
But as I turned around
Ding! Dong!
The announcement bell was rung again.